Iraqi Minister of Defence to Lead Delegation to Cyprus

Defence Minister, HE Saadun Al-Dulaimi will lead a delegation of up to 5 other ministers and 35 senior officials to participate in the inaugural Iraq Defence & Security Summit 2011 in Cyprus 7-8 December. These officials will also include the Chief of Staff, Gen. Babakir Zebari and the heads of the navy and air force.

Accompanying the Ministry of Defence will also be the Ministries of Interior, National Security, Communications, Science & Technology and Transport as well as their counterpart ministries from the Kurdistan Regional Government.

In preparation for the US troop draw down the Iraqi Government is working hard to prepare its options for best in class technologies and solutions to strengthen the country’s defence and security infrastructure. The summit, at the Intercontinental Aphrodite Hills Resort Cyprus, will be centred around pre-scheduled one-to-one meetings and is a unique opportunity to engage with Iraqi ministers, senior officials, US government agencies and oil infrastructure operators, to assist in their multi-billion dollar defence and security procurement programs.

The Government of Iraq has made international headlines recently with it’s procurement of F-16 fighter jets and that just marks the beginning of a major program to act on wide ranging requirements from critical infrastructure protection to military supply chain to border control and policing of Iraq.

Many parts of the country are looking to develop comprehensive CCTV coverage with national databases and secure communications systems. Recent events in Baghdad have further demonstrated that ensuring Iraq’s internal security is a top priority and a necessary pre-requisite to delivering on further infrastructure development.

The summit is being organised by the Iraq Program for Peace & Stability made up of Iraqi and British executives committed to securing powerful business relationships based on transparency, accountability, good ethics and political primacy within the rule of law. For further details visit: www.iraqstability.org